The United States and the United Kingdom are taking the next step in a commitment made by leaders of the two countries to create a "technology partnership," the U.S. Department of State (DOS) announce recently.
Four senior U.S. and UK officials met Jan. 12 for the first U.S.-UK Comprehensive Dialogue on Technology and Data (CDTD) conference, DOS Sec. Antony Blinken announced on Twitter.
"Modernizing American diplomacy means keeping technology and data at the center of our efforts," Blinken stated in the post, "and doing so in partnership with key global partners."
The CDTD was launched in October to further the commitment made in June 2021 between U.S. President Joseph Biden and then-UK Prime Minster Boris Johnson "to develop a new landmark bilateral Technology Partnership, to enable a new era of strategic cooperation and protect our technology advantage," the announcement states.
"The United States and the United Kingdom recognize the strategic importance of technology to our prosperity and security and to promoting and protecting our shared democratic values globally," the DOS states in the announcement.
The collaboration will focus on shared priorities, such as furthering cross-border data flow, privacy protections, supply chain resilience and diversification, responsible AI development and more. The first year of what's to be an "annual dialogue" will concentrate on data, critical and emerging technologies, and secure and resilient digital infrastructure, according to the announcement.
Senior representatives in the U.S. Departments of State and Commerce and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport led the annual dialogue, the announcement reported. Officials in attendance were Grant Harris, U.S. assistant secretary of Commerce for Industry and Analysis; Nathaniel Fick, U.S. Ambassador at Large for Cyberspace and Digital Policy; Susannah Storey, UK Director General for Digital and Media Policy; and Chris Jones, UK Director, Technology & Analysis Directorate.
